Solving Skybell Geofencing Not Working Issues

Solving Skybell Geofencing Not Working Issues

Skybell's geofencing feature offers a convenient way to manage your home's security automatically. By using your phone's location, it can silence notifications when you're home and re-enable them when you leave, ensuring you only get alerts when you need them. When this hands-free feature stops working, it can be a real nuisance.

This guide is here to help you troubleshoot the common problems associated with Skybell geofencing and restore its smart functionality.

Common Symptoms of Geofencing Problems

To fix the issue, you first need to know what to look for. Here are the typical signs that your Skybell's geofencing isn't working correctly:

• Home/Away Mode Doesn't Switch: The system fails to automatically toggle between 'Home' and 'Away' status as you come and go.
• Notifications Are Not Silenced: You continue to receive motion or button press alerts on your phone even when you are at home.
• Incorrect Location Status: The Skybell app thinks you are away when you are at home, or vice versa.
• Inconsistent Performance: The feature works sometimes but fails at other times, making it unreliable.
• Delayed Actions: The change from 'Away' to 'Home' mode is significantly delayed, only happening long after you've arrived.
• Multiple Users Conflict: The feature doesn't work correctly in a household with multiple users, failing to recognise when at least one person is home.

Step-by-Step Guide to Fix Skybell Geofencing

Geofencing depends on your phone's settings, the Skybell app, and a stable connection. Let's work through each area to find the solution.

1. Check Phone and App Permissions

The most common culprit is a simple settings issue on your smartphone. The Skybell app needs constant and accurate access to your location.

• Grant Location Permissions:
  • On an iPhone: Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Ensure Location Services is on. Scroll down to the Skybell app and set its access to Always. Choosing "While Using the App" is not sufficient for geofencing. Also, enable Precise Location.
  • On an Android Phone: Go to Settings > Location and make sure it's turned on. Then go to App Permissions > Skybell and select Allow all the time. The exact menu names may differ slightly depending on your phone's manufacturer.
• Enable Background App Refresh:
  • On an iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and make sure it is enabled for the Skybell app.
• Keep Wi-Fi Enabled: Your phone uses Wi-Fi signals to help determine its location, even if you're not connected to a network. Keep your phone's Wi-Fi turned on for better accuracy.

2. Configure the Geofence in the Skybell App

An improperly set up geofence will never work reliably.

• Verify Your Home's Location: Open the Skybell app, go into the geofencing settings, and confirm that the pin marking your home's location is placed accurately on the map.
• Increase the Geofence Radius: A very small geofence can lead to false triggers due to normal GPS drift. If you are having issues, try setting the geofence radius to a larger size. This creates a bigger buffer zone and prevents the system from thinking you've left when you're just moving around the house.

3. Disable Aggressive Battery Optimisation

Smartphones work hard to save battery, but this can interfere with apps that need to run in the background.

• Turn Off Battery Saver Modes: When your phone is in a low-power or battery-saver mode, it will almost certainly disable background location tracking. Make sure these modes are turned off.
• Exclude the Skybell App: On many Android phones, you can go into the battery settings and specifically exclude the Skybell app from "optimisation" or "power-saving" features. This ensures the operating system doesn't shut it down.

4. Update and Refresh

Finally, ensuring everything is up to date can resolve persistent bugs.

• Update the Skybell App: Go to the App Store or Google Play Store and check for updates to the Skybell app.
• Restart Your Phone: A simple reboot can often fix temporary glitches with your phone's GPS or background services.
• Log Out and Log Back In: Sign out of your Skybell account within the app, close it completely, and then sign back in. This can often reset your connection and get things working again.